She tried to breathe as lightly as she could, so as not to irritate her broken ribs. Lifting a green-glowing hand, Sakura attempted to heal her fractures. Before she could begin the healing process, Tsunade was rearing her arm back to hit the ground again. Sakura leapt up and quickly moved away, right before the area she had been in crumbled.
"Heal yourself later!" Tsunade barked. "Learn to fight through your injuries. And con-"
"Conserve my chakra." Sakura answered. "I know, I know, Shishō."
"If you knew, you wouldn't have been healing yourself!"
"Yes, Shishō."
Tsunade walked to where her student was crouched on the ground. "We are done for today." she spoke. "But do better tomorrow!"
Sakura sighed. "Yes, Tsunade-shishō. Good night." Sakura walked out of the dark arena without looking back. She had started training in the chūnin exam arena a year ago, as a sixteen year old girl, when Tsunade had realized how destructive the both of them could be. Sakura, with her power to wield chakra so well, had picked up the difficult earth-shattering technique in an hour. To say Tsunade had been surprised when Sakura created a massive crater so easily, would be an understatement.
When Tsunade had just taken Sakura on as a pupil, the girl had struggled with healing. Sakura knew the ins-and-outs of the human body, but she had never felt something heal underneath her she had finally gotten the hang of it, she found the experience to be awesome.
Tsunade had taught Sakura almost everything that she knew. The girl only needed to perfect what she had learned. Tsunade had even explained the Byakugō no In to her. She had never shared the information with anyone before. Tsunade had told Sakura to wait before starting the seal, even though the young chūnin was ready.
Sakura ambled through the streets towards her house. She now lived completely alone. The year before, she had moved in with Ino, but when Sakura's parents passed on, the teen had decided to move back into her childhood home. It wasn't a very large house, but it was perfect for Sakura. She unlocked the door and slowly made her way inside. After slipping out of her sandals, Sakura wandered into her bedroom. Planning to heal herself, shower and then head to bed, she unstrapped her weapon pouches and slid out of her black tank, leggings, and fishnet armor.
Her head quickly whipped around. The feeling of being watched settled over her. Sakura did a quick scan with her chakra, but didn't sense anyone or anything. Shrugging it off as paranoia, she walked into the bathroom. After quickly and efficiently healing her injuries, Sakura took a long shower before dressing in simple nightwear. Walking back into the bedroom, Sakura once more scanned for anymore intruders.
Nothing.
Nothing.
There.
Whipping out a kunai from who-knows-where, Sakura lunged towards her hidden enemy. Only to see a blur of green and feel pricks in her neck, before passing out.
{O}
{O}
Sakura woke up to the heavy feeling of motion sickness. Her eyes wouldn't open and her limbs were practically made of lead. She could feel herself moving, the steady cadence of leaping and falling almost lulling her back to sleep. No! she thought. I can't sleep here, wherever I may be. Finally forcing her eyes open, Sakura took in her surroundings. She was in the forest, traveling between branches on someone else's back.
On someone else's back?!
"Calm down. No need to panic." A voice spoke. It must have been the person carrying her, his voice was much too loud to come from anywhere else. But seriously, had he just told her not to panic? She had just been kidnapped, for crying out loud.
The man beneath her chuckled. Guess she had said that aloud. Sakura finally noticed that her hands and feet were bound with thick, strong cords. Sure, they might be tough cords, but Sakura had superhuman strength. Quickly bringing chakra to her wrists and ankles, Sakura attempted to break her bindings. Immediately, an excruciating pain filled her whole body. Not able to keep quiet, Sakura cried out in agony. She slumped even harder against the man carrying her as the pain slowly subsided.
"I wouldn't try drawing any chakra for a while." The same man from before spoke.
"What did you do to me." Sakura grit her teeth as another wave of pain washed over her.
"We sealed your chakra away."
The man had said more, but Sakura didn't hear. No chakra? That would be a problem. She could easily win a taijutsu fight without her chakra-laced punches, but she would need it to heal, should she get injured. Who knows what would be done to her. The man might torture her for information, and then what? Sakura would only last a few days after torture, just like any shinobi of her caliber.
Sakura felt another presence approach from behind but the man underneath her didn't even flinch.
"Did you run into anyone?" A gruff voice asked. The man beneath her shook his head, his brown hair shaking with the movement.
"No, it was simple."
"Good." The unknown voice spoke again.
Where- where have I heard it before? Sakura thought before passing out once more.
{O}
{O}
Sakura woke up on the ground next to a tall, thick tree. Her wrists and ankles were still bound, and her chakra was still completely drained, leaving her a shell of what she used to be. Lifting her head slightly, Sakura took in her new surroundings. She must have traveled miles and miles; she didn't recognize the area. And... she was alone? Where were the two men from before? They didn't leave her here to die, did they?
And then it dawned on her. Sakura had been captured. How could I let this happen? she thought, enraged. Heck, I'm a chūnin, the Godaime's apprentice. I should be able to do better than this! Sighing exasperatedly, Sakura lowered her head. She had already been captured, it was inevitable. There was no way around it. She could only hope to escape, but that all depended on the skill level of whoever had captured her. Oh, things were just horrible. Not to mention, Sakura was absolutely freezing. She was in a loose, black pair of thin shorts and a black t-shirt. Things were not looking good.
Sakura was wriggling around, trying to curl up to conserve some warmth, when the men came back. She was surprised when the first one entered the clearing. He was wearing a dark green, traditional yukata, but what threw her off was the mask. He was wearing a porcelain hunter-nin mask from Kirigakure. No, he couldn't be affiliated the village, Kiri had no reason to capture her... unless they did?
But all of Sakura's thoughts died down when the second man walked into the small clearing. He was lean and very tall; almost a foot taller than Sakura herself. He wore odd sandals with blue-striped leg warmers. He had on a pair of strange, loose pants and his chest was covered by a thin, skintight tank top and a weapon holster. But the thing that drew her attention was his weapon.
Kubikiribocho.
The executioner's blade, wielded by none other than Momochi Zabuza. Sakura had hoped that she would never have to see the man again, but there he was, standing over her bound body, in all his glory. That meant that the masked man was Haku. Almost as if she had summoned him, the young man appeared next to Zabuza, who was still glaring at her. Haku gently pushed the older man away and led him to sit at the edge of the clearing. The boy then walked towards Sakura.
She was terrified, to say the least. Haku came closer and closer, and who knows what he would do to her? She struggled against the bindings and tried to scooch away as he steadily approached. Soon, Haku was standing over her, his porcelain mask still framing his face.
"Don't touch me." Sakura spat. Haku only moved to remove his mask. Underneath was the same pretty face from before, but it was more weathered. He looked older, more mature, wiser. He gave her a small smile before crouching down and reaching out for her. Sakura made a fearful noise in the back of her throat while unsuccessfully trying to get away from his hands.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Haku spoke, his smile still present. Sakura gave up her futile efforts and settled on glaring at the young man. Haku didn't react, he moved once again, picking her weak body up by her shoulders and helping her to sit up against a tree.
"I felt that you would be more comfortable sitting." He stated, casually. Sakura returned his smile with an even harder glare and a few choice insults.
"Haku." A voice barked. Zabuza was still resting on the ground, but he had been watching the entire exchange. "Stop sympathizing with the girl, she doesn't need it." At this, Sakura actually growled. Zabuza laughed. "See?" He sneered. "She's perfectly fine." Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Yeah, she was just sunshine and flowers.
"Don't get cocky." Zabuza barked. Sakura's eyes widened, had she said that out loud? That had already happened once. What had they drugged her with?
"The only thing we gave you was a chakra sealer." Haku said. Had she said that aloud as well? She must be going insane. Haku laughed. "No," he told her. "You're not going insane. You're probably just really tired." Gosh, she really needed to pay attention now.
"Is this some kind of side effect?" Zabuza grumbled. "It better not be permanent, girl." Sakura oh-so-maturely stuck her tongue out at him. The man sent her a terrifying glare in return.
If only Sakura hadn't been drained of her chakra, she wouldn't be so exhausted. Heck, she wouldn't have even been in this situation. She warily looked up to see Zabuza still glaring at her. His mere presence sent shivers down her spine, and they were not pleasant. Her mind was screaming at her to turn tail and run, but she was bound.
When Zabuza grumbled something about a 'girl who won't shut her trap', Sakura thought long and hard. How could she distract herself from speaking her thoughts out loud, but still be able to think? And so, she began to sing. Now, Sakura was not the best when it came to singing. She could carry a tune, but it took her a minute to find the right note.
"Why are you singing, girl?" Zabuza muttered. Sakura didn't answer; too scared to say anything. She had chosen a song she knew by heart, a song her mother used to sing when Sakura was younger. Sakura wasn't willing to risk leaking any important information, so she continued her song.
She was well into the third verse, when she was startled by a loud noise. She looked towards the sound, which was coming from the other side of the clearing. There she saw Zabuza, doubled over, violently coughing and struggling for air. Haku was by his side, on the verge of panicking. Sakura watched, eyes wide, as Zabuza continued coughing. The sound was horrifyingly painful to listen to, and Sakura watched as the bandages in front of his mouth slowly became red, stained with blood. Many minutes later, the coughing subsided and Sakura noted how Zabuza was significantly weaker than he was five minutes prior. She watched the way he sat, exhausted, as he greedily gasped for air. Slipping his bandages down to rest around his neck, he accepted the water that Haku had offered.
The medic side of Sakura was already in motion. Her mind immediately noted all of his obvious symptoms and was already trying to diagnose. The more logical side of her, shut down the process. She did not need to be helping the enemy, even if the said enemy looked completely beat and was coughing up blood.
Zabuza stood and walked out of the clearing while Haku began to set up camp. He must have noticed her staring, for he finally glanced in her direction.
He sighed. "Zabuza has been like this for a few months." Sakura's eyes widened, a few months? Haku continued. "It wasn't as bad in the beginning, but for the past couple of weeks, he's been coughing up blood and it's weakened him." Sakura couldn't stop the sympathy from washing over her. Sure, he may be an enemy, but no human should suffer like Zabuza was.
"A- are you sick a- as well?" Sakura asked, quietly. Haku silently shook his head. Then what was it? It could be something passed down through Zabuza's blood relatives, or maybe it was a -
"Stop!" Sakura shouted. Haku looked to her in alarm.
"Are you all right?" he asked. Sakura wasn't sure if his concern was genuine or just a facade. Sakura chose not to answer him. She hadn't meant to yell, Sakura was only trying to stop her train of thought. Once again, she had been trying to help her enemies. She needed to focus on finding a way to escape, not on a sickness that didn't concern her. Sighing, she relaxed against the tree. Her body and mind were exhausted, but she couldn't fall asleep here, not with these people.
She couldn't.
She wouldn't.
She cou-
{O}
{O}
Dang it!
She had fallen asleep, of course she had. Way to go, Sakura. she thought, bitterly. After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed how, well, dark it had become. She must have slept for a few hours. Her body was still by the tree, but Sakura had slipped out of her sitting position and was now laying on the ground.
Zabuza had come back at some point in time and he was now seated at the very small fire in the middle of the clearing. He and Haku looked to be eating a meal of some kind. She involuntarily groaned at the smell, reminding herself of how hungry she was. Zabuza naturally ignored her, while Haku immediately got her something to eat.
She refrained from growling. Like hell she would eat their food! What if it was poisoned? And she was bound. Sakura absolutely refused to be fed by someone else.
Haku once more helped her to sit up before trying to feed her.
"I'm not eating that."
Haku sighed. "You need to eat something." he tried. "Otherwise, you'll get sick." Sakura scoffed.
"I'd rather die from starvation or sickness than from poison just because I was hungry."
Haku smiled. "But it's not poisoned." He coaxed.
"What's your reason not to poison me? How am I supposed to believe you?" Sakura spat.
Haku smiled again, but it was obvious that he was starting to lose his patience. "I promise you, it's not-"
"Would you two just shut it?"
Sakura looked away from Haku to see Zabuza lumbering towards them. "Girl, just eat it. It's not poisoned." He growled. Sakura attempted a growl of her own, but it sounded more like a pitiful whine. Zabuza gave her a glare that rivaled even Tsunade's and Sakura didn't budge, even though she cowered underneath his gaze, terrified that she would be beaten.
Rolling his eyes, Zabuza slipped his bandages down while reaching for the plate Haku was holding before shoveling some rice into his mouth. He then picked up a piece of meat and bit into it, tearing it apart with his teeth.
(those razor sharp teeth that made Sakura want to jump and run away...)
Grabbing the canteen of water, he took a gulp of the liquid before giving her a very sharp glare. Sakura understood his meaning clearly; eat the food or blood would be spilled.
She reluctantly let Haku feed her. He was gentle about it, even though she had been a jerk. Zabuza sat close by, watching her every move and Sakura had never been more petrified than she was in that moment. She was sitting, bound by the S-class missing-nin who had almost killed her years ago. He or Haku could kill her at any given moment and she was practically defenseless. She had a few tricks up her sleeve, but those were to only be used in life-or-death situations. But she could endure. She would endure. Tsunade- shishō hadn't spent years training her for nothing. So Sakura stayed silent...mostly...
She didn't know why she had been captured, but she would find out, and she would escape. If only she had a small bit of chakra.
After another few hours, they moved out. Sakura was once more carried on Haku's back, as Zabuza was carrying his sword. Her chakra had began to oh-so-slowly trickle into her body. Sakura didn't even have enough to channel into her hands. But she wasn't as exhausted and she felt more lively with the minuscule amount in her pathways. She prayed that her captors wouldn't suck it all away again.
They traveled for hours. All of her limbs had fallen asleep and every time Haku leapt, the ache in her joints would increase. Just as she was getting ready to curse the gods for her predicament when they arrived at a small town. Haku finally leapt down from the trees and carefully walked on the gravel path. He set Sakura down beside the road before sitting down himself. They waited for Zabuza who had suffered another coughing fit a good mile back. The older man had waved them on, so Haku had reluctantly continued without him.
As they waited, Sakura noticed how the line of trees ended on the other side of the village. There was water there instead. Must be a large river, she thought. I don't recognize the area we are in, so we must be a good hundred miles away. These thoughts did nothing to lift her spirits, and Sakura only wished to be rid of the situation. Haku noticed her staring towards the village and the area around them.
"That village over there is called Ōbokeyōkai." he started. Sakura had to refrain from gasping. She had heard of the village before! She only knew that it was supposedly haunted and didn't that make her feel so much better, she didn't even know where the village was located. Haku continued, "It's not actually haunted. It's an old tale passed on, to keep the village safe."
"Keep it safe?"
Haku nodded. "It's actually a ninja-supply village." Sakura quirked a brow.
"And why haven't I heard of this?" she asked, skeptical.
"Because it is specifically for rogue-nin."
Sakura's eyes widened. "Oh."
Haku chuckled. "We normally don't share that kind of information."
"Then why are you telling me?"
A pause. "Because we need your help." And he said no more. How was she supposed to help if she didn't even know what she was dealing with? What, were they going to sell her off to some weird, old man and thrive off of the profit? She huffed impatiently, but Sakura didn't pry, she was not among friends. She was spared from the awkward silence when Zabuza showed up. As always, there was no conversation; Zabuza led and Haku followed with Sakura on his back. As they entered the village, Sakura felt a shift in the air. A genjutsu, she mused. Must be how its true purpose is protected.
The farther they traveled, the darker the village became, until Sakura was practically drowning in the heaviness of it. She suddenly couldn't get enough air, her chest was so tight. Was she having a panic attack? Even as she tried to calm herself down, her state only worsened. As she struggled for air, her heart beating erratically, Sakura wondered if she would have a heart attack. With the way her fear was literally suffocating her, she wouldn't be surprised if this was how she died.
Dang it! She screamed internally as she began to lose consciousness. Why isn't anyone helping me? She started to claw at Haku's back, only he wasn't there. In fact, nothing was anywhere. She sat on the ground, completely encased in darkness, while gasping for just one more breath. Her head grew heavy and her lungs failed to draw another breath. I'm sorry, Tsunade-shishō. I have failed you.
And then it was bright, bright, bright. Sakura's body struggled but managed to suck in air. Kami, it was painful. Her ears were filled with an incessant ringing, and her heart was pounding. Her eyes were open, but the only thing she could see was bright. She laid there for a few minutes, trying to get her breathing under control before trying to focus on anything. Willing her eyes to work, Sakura looked up and saw Haku's anxious face hovering over hers, his hands in some kind of hand-seal. He visibly relaxed when he saw Sakura's eyes focus. Another minute and Sakura found the strength to shakily ask:
"What happened?"
Haku looked so guilty, she wanted to reach up and shake his face to put it back to its normal, pretty self. "We forgot to dispel the genjustsu for you." He said, his face filled with concern. "Are you all right?"
Sakura's eyes widened. "That was all a genjutsu? I swear, I was dying." Zabuza stood over Haku, who was still over her body. They must have placed her on the ground at some point.
"You would have died if we didn't save you." Zabuza grumbled. "Be grateful, girl."
"I- I didn't have enough chakra to dispel it before being caught." She stuttered back. Haku lifted her onto his back again. "Was I actually suffocating?" Sakura asked, scared to hear the answer.
Haku nodded. "You had stopped breathing." Sakura's breath hitched.
"Why did you save me?"
A pause. "Because we need your help."
Well, there was that line again. Sakura did not bother to press for more of an answer. They continued to a hotel further in the village while Sakura tried to get a hold of herself. Just the thought of suffocating again terrified her. She would make sure that none of her fellow shinobi or loved ones would enter the village without the knowledge of the genjustu. The whole ordeal had left Sakura exhausted, but Sakura didn't dare to fall asleep now; the thought of sleep scared her. She was sure to have nightmares for a while.
Haku dropped her on one of the two beds in the hotel room. Zabuza had disappeared again, but Sakura could care less. She rubbed her wrists together to try and ease the pain before curling into a fetal position. Even though she tried her hardest to stay awake, Sakura still found herself drifting to sleep.
{O}
{O}
She woke up to a scream. It was loud and filled with fear. Sakura's ears were ringing from the sound, and then she realized.
It was her who was screaming.
Her throat was so sore, how long had she been going on? The memories of her dream hit her all at once, and Sakura felt a shiver wrack her body. It was like the genjutsu all over again, but her imagination added to it. There had been these...monsters, circling her body as they waited for her to suffocate. At this point, she had been unable to stop her tears. She laid out on the bed limbs spread haphazardly, and cried. Sakura felt ashamed for her tears, she was a strong kunoichi! But nothing could staunch the flow.
And this is how Zabuza had found her. Sakura hadn't registered the noise of the door opening and closing, so when his bandaged face appeared in her line of sight, she cried out and somehow found the energy to scooch away from him on the bed. Sakura brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, curling into herself. She knew she looked pathetic, felt it too, but she didn't have the energy to run or fight. Zabuza merely stared at her, his glare oh-so-threatening. Sakura swore that he was going to eat her or use his sword to chop off her head.
He gave her a huff before walking to a chair on the opposite wall. He grabbed his massive sword next to it and took a seat, his eyes never leaving her form. Zabuza began to sharpen and polish his blade and all Sakura could do was inch farther away in fear. This man scared the living daylights out of her. He had managed to defect from the Bloody Mist of all places. Zabuza had been raised to kill; he was almost a perfect example of a shinobi. Sakura sat in the corner of the bed, trembling with fear, and wondered if the man had a heart at all. What had spurred him leave Kiri? She brought her hands into her lap, studying her raw and sore wrists as she thought. Her raw and sore wri-
Thump.
In her surprise, Sakura had fallen off of the bed. She laid on the ground, her finally-freed arms and legs spread. Zabuza had barely even glanced at her. "Don't try anything funny." He barked without looking up. Sakura nodded dumbly while she struggled to climb back onto her perch. Her body was only slightly stronger than before. After carefully maneuvering herself to the farthest edge from where Zabuza sat, Sakura tentatively asked.
"Why am I unbound?"
Her voice had come out so much squeakier than she had envisioned but Sakura refused to wither under Zabuza's stare. The man only grumbled something about 'overly-curious girls' who 'don't know when to shut up'. Just then, the window silently opened to reveal Haku. He easily slipped through the small opening and landed smoothly on the floor. Without even glancing at her, Haku turned to Zabuza with a serious expression.
"It is ready." He spoke, solemnly. Zabuza nodded and immediately put away his supplies and strapped his sword to his back. He then walked towards her.
"Girl," he barked. Sakura looked up, fearful. "Can you walk?" Sakura didn't answer; she slipped off of the bed and used the edge to balance herself. Oh, how she wished she had some more chakra to channel to her feet. Her body was still weak and practically useless, causing her to stumble to the floor after a few small steps. Sakura could feel herself falling in slow motion, her eyes closing on instinct. She braced herself as well as she could for the rough landing that was sure to happen. Only, it didn't come
Sakura looked up and focused her gaze on the face above her, her eyes meeting a pair of cold, brown ones. It took her much too long to comprehend what had happened. Zabuza had slipped his arms underneath hers and caught Sakura before she could hit the ground. When she realized that the man was touching her, she stumbled backwards and ended up on the floor anyway. Sakura didn't even register the shock of pain that traveled through her spine as she hit the floor. Her skin was burning where his hands had been, it was becoming too much.
Sakura had been in the hands of death. Her breath came in short, desperate gasps and her line of vision narrowed and became blurry. Her heart was pounding and her eyes widened. This wasn't the genjustu again, she was having an actual panic attack.
Kami, she knew how to help others through them, but it was so hard when trying to calm herself down. I- I need to calm my chakra. Sakura thought, the small amount she had moving through her body in erratic bursts. She didn't register the presence behind her. Repeatedly walking herself through the steps, Sakura managed to calm her chakra...mostly. Her mind was now able to focus on her environment. As she regulated her breathing, Sakura felt the person behind her. She could feel their arm moving forward and she ducked underneath the oncoming blow.
But the hand hadn't even tried to hurt her. Instead, she felt the weight of it on her shoulder blades. The hand was much too small and definitely too gentle to be Zabuza's, but Sakura still wanted to stand and run. "Get your filthy hands off of me." She whispered sharply. The hand slowly retreated. Good. Sakura didn't want any comfort from her enemies. They gave her another moment and she gratefully took it, though trying to calm down while being stared at by killers was difficult.
When Sakura felt ready, she used the edge of the bed to help her stand. Haku walked to stand in front of her and she silently climbed onto his back. She avoided making eye contact with either of them. As they left the hotel and entered the street, Sakura paid more attention to the town she was in. Last time she had been outside was when they had arrived, and Sakura had been to busy suffocating to notice the neat store-fronts and brightly-colored houses. There weren't very many people out-and-about, but those that she could see were obviously shinobi. The fact that nobody even looked twice at her weak, bruised, and bloodied form really showed the nature of the village.
Zabuza and Haku stopped in front of a small, rickety shed that looked like it could fall apart at any moment. Upon closer inspection, Sakura noticed the slight blue shimmer of chakra encasing the building. Must be some kind of fortifying seal. She thought. Probably helps keep secrets inside. She involuntarily shivered at the idea. Haku followed Zabuza through the door, and Sakura's breath hitched in surprise.
The inside of the shed glowed a pale, chakra-blue. It gave everything an odd shine and Sakura felt goosebumps race across her skin. But what really caught her attention were the seals on the floor. Every inch of the ground was covered in seals. Every spot except for an empty circle in the middle. This is where Haku set her down. The seals were even more impressive from close up. Sakura guess that it had taken days to create. But what is the purpose of such an explicit seal pattern? She thought. And why am I in the middle? Things were not looking good.
Zabuza approached her still form with a small jar of ink. No, no, no, n-
"Strip."
Well, that was not what she had been expecting. Sakura dared to look him in the eyes. "Excuse me?" She growled back.
"Don't play around with me, girl." Didn't he know that she had a name? "I ordered you to undress."
Sighing in defeat, Sakura began to work her clothes off of her body. There wasn't very much to take off, though. She began with her shorts, the ones she normally slept in. Her hands were shaky from the fatigue and fear. What are they going to do to me? When she hesitantly reached to slip off her underwear, Zabuza stopped her.
"Just your shirt and shorts, girl."
Just her shirt and shorts? What were they going to do, beat her bare skin? Brand her somehow? When Sakura finally managed to pull her shirt over her head, Zabuza squatted beside her. He ordered her to sit with her legs crossed and her palms resting on her knees. Sakura watched him dip his finger into the pot of ink, and she flinched when his finger made contact with her skin. Zabuza drew a small character on her shoulder. Dipping his finger back into the ink, he drew another. And another.
The process was painstakingly slow and Sakura sat rigidly, afraid that she would be beaten if she moved. Zabuza painted her whole body from the neck down in seals. When he came to an oddly colored mark above her navel, he stopped.
"What is this?" He asked. It was probably the nicest thing he ever said to her... But Sakura was stuck. He obviously didn't recognize the mark, but no one else would either.
"It- it was a justu failure." She replied. It was mostly the truth. The jutsu hadn't failed yet; Sakura was still working on it. Zabuza huffed and continued with his seals. Sakura did her best to keep herself from releasing a relieved sigh.
After another hour, Zabuza stood. "Don't move." He barked. Sakura rolled her eyes behind his back but Haku caught the action and gave her a smirk. She only stared in return. Oh, how she wished she could be out of here. How long had it been since she had been captured? She wondered how her friends and comrades were holding up. Was Tsunade-shishō indulging in saké more than usual? Was Naruto yelling from the mountaintops , trying to find her in his own, ridiculous way? She sincerely hoped that everyone would stay safe, as safe as shinobi like them could be.
Sakura was drawn out of her thoughts when Zabuza took a seat outside of the seals. He sat directly in front of her in a similar position, except his hands were mid-air, prepared to form hand-signs. Making eye contact with her, Zabuza began to form the appropriate hand-signs. On and on he went, and with each sign, the glow of chakra in the room became brighter. The seals soon shone a brilliant blue as Zabuza completed the sixty-third sign. He slammed his palm, lit with his own chakra, into a small opening in the seals on the floor.
Sakura felt the seals dance across her skin, leaving a trail of searing pain. Each seal crawled from the floor, over to her body and landed in a specific spot on her upper-right arm. With every seal put into place came a new wave of pain and she couldn't grit her teeth and fight it anymore. Sakura screamed. She dearly hoped that the process was almost at its end. Sakura was blinded as the room grew brighter than before. Zabuza roared as he pushed one last wave of chakra into the remaining seals on the floor. Sakura's pain reached a new limit. She sat, spine straight and head thrown back, as she cried through the agony. It was like brands underneath her skin, burning her from the inside-out.
And then it was over. Sakura slumped onto the ground, relief flooding her body. Zabuza sat across from her, panting from the exertion. What has he done to me? Sakura thought. She felt a throb on her right arm and looked down to see inky black and bloody red. Her eyes widened in horror. The seal looked simple, but Sakura knew it was anything but. A thick, black circle sat on her right bicep with 封 in the middle in blood red. She knew that the character stood for 'seal'. Makes it kind of obvious, doesn't it? Sakura could feel the steady hum of Zabuza's chakra within. It was not a comforting sensation.
But what did it do? She wondered. There were millions and billions of seals, all with different purposes. Zabuza could have put any one of them on her.
Sakura barely registered the noise of Zabuza falling into another one of his coughing fits, or the way he barely made it back to the hotel. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was working overtime, trying to find a shred of hope in her situation.
Sakura fell asleep in the same hotel room as two assassins, the chakra of one buzzing underneath the skin of her arm, as she tried to ignore the spontaneous aftershocks of pain. And she tried not to think too hard, to stress herself out, but she couldn't help but think.
I'm in way over my head.
{O}
{O}
Word count: 6,099
Hello! I'm sorry for the long wait. I'll be honest, I was being lazy for the better part of the month. But, I pushed through and finished this chapter; my longest one yet! Thank you for sticking with me, even though the pace I move at is slooow. Tell me what you liked, (or didn't like) about this chapter! I appreciate every review sent.
~Rus